The FreightCaviar Podcast

Freight brokerage founder John Ferguson breaks down how Pivot Supply Chain Solutions grew to $50M, why cold calling and customer service still win in logistics, and where AI fits into the future of freight brokerage.
John also opens up about how freight brokering changed his life, from spending time in foster care and struggling as a young adult to building a career, a family, and his own company. Now, after checking off many of the milestones he set for himself, he says the next thing left to chase is a $1B freight brokerage.
This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, Goodship, Highway, and Bitfreighter.

Lev Krasnopolskiy, Co-Founder of Everest Transportation Systems and Founder of Alpha Staffing and Recruiting, shares how he went from immigrating to the U.S. from Moscow at five years old to building a career in freight, co-founding Everest, and using offshore talent in Ukraine to help the brokerage compete and scale.Lev also breaks down how chess shaped his approach to sales and negotiation, how speaking Russian helped him build relationships with carriers, why he believed Ukraine could give Everest more firepower for less money, and why he thinks freight offshoring isn't going away. He also shares his views on offshore fraud, building a global logistics workforce, launching Alpha after Everest, and combining offshore staffing with domestic recruiting.This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, Highway, Bitfreighter, and Chain.Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at [email protected]:0:00 Intro1:09 Meet Lev Krasnopolskiy2:38 From Moscow to America4:58 Geography, History, and Early Ambition7:43 Chess and Learning to Sell11:57 Breaking Into Freight at Echo14:05 Building Carrier Relationships15:55 From Echo to Custom19:22 Founding Everest Transportation Systems21:18 Learning Customer Sales24:49 The Ukraine Staffing Experiment30:42 Moving the Team to Ukraine34:04 How Ukraine Helped Everest Scale37:49 What Held Everest Back40:12 Why Freight Offshoring Won't Stop43:19 Freight Becomes a Global Industry45:03 Offshore Fraud and Regulation48:25 Starting Alpha Staffing and Recruiting52:22 Offshore and Domestic Recruiting56:02 The Future of Alpha57:33 Lev's Formula for Success58:49 The Four-Hour Workweek1:01:05 Final Thoughts

Ted Alling, Managing Partner at Dynamo Ventures, and Co-Founder of Access America, joined Reed Loustalot on the FreightCaviar Podcast to discuss how he helped build a freight brokerage from a startup into a $500 million business without outside capital, the early days of Access America and the culture that fueled its growth, and how Dynamo is backing the next generation of freight founders.

Ted also breaks down the early days of Access America, the culture and training that helped it scale, the logistics flywheel that transformed Chattanooga, why investors underestimated the size of logistics, and the long-term mindset behind building companies, communities, and talent.

This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, GoodShip, Bitfreighter, and TrackFlow.

Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at [email protected].

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
0:42 Brickyard and Lamp Post Origins
3:03 Ted's Background and Move to Chattanooga
4:51 Starting Access America
7:54 Landing the First Customers
9:08 Scaling Access and Building Culture
11:07 The Chattanooga Logistics Flywheel
14:58 Making Freight Brokerage Cool
16:42 Selling Access and Reinvesting Locally
18:58 Creating More Wealth in Chattanooga
22:37 Why Ted Started Dynamo Ventures
25:00 Long-Term Games and Compound Interest
26:37 Building Chattanooga Prep
30:16 Why Founders Should Build in Chattanooga
32:17 Final Thoughts

Tim Higham, Founder of AscendTMS, shares his journey from building a fintech company, to launching a freight brokerage, to creating a cloud-based TMS platform, and more.

This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, Highway, Chain, and Resolve Logistics.

Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at ⁠[email protected]⁠.

Tim Higham, Founder of AscendTMS, shares his journey from building a fintech company, to launching a freight brokerage, to creating a cloud-based TMS platform, and more.
This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, Highway, Chain, and Resolve Logistics.
Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at [email protected].

Serge Raducan, the Founder & CEO at Kovin Group, breaks down the rise of Moldova’s dispatch workforce, the challenges of managing U.S. freight abroad, and more.
This week's episode is sponsored by: Epay Manager, Chain, Bitfreighter, and Freight Flex.
Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at [email protected].

Yuri from Easy Truck Shop traveled state-by-state to build software around the hidden bottleneck of trucking: managing repairs, parts, and shop data.
This week's episode is sponsored by  Epay Manager, Resolve Logistics, Bitfreighter, and TrackFlo.
Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at [email protected].

Mario Torres, Terminal Manager at Erives Enterprises, explains why cross-border freight remains a steady bet despite tariffs, diesel volatility, and capacity swings, and more.
This week's episode is sponsored by  Epay Manager, Goodship,FreightFlex and TrackFlo.
Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at [email protected].

Salvador Munoz is the CEO and Owner of Best Express Inc., a trucking company based in El Paso. He breaks down the mechanics of the Juárez freight economy, from maquiladoras and tariffs to driver shortages and rising operating costs.This week's episode is sponsored by  Epay Manager, Goodship, Chain, and Highway.Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at [email protected].

Lynn Gravley, Founder of NTG and TIA's incoming Chairman, on why brokers who cut shipments instead of chasing them win the freight game, and more.

This week's episode is sponsored by  Epay Manager, Highway, Goodship, Bitfreighter

Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at [email protected].